Blind
by SoraGirl
Summary: Harry watches as Ron and Hermione slowly develop a relationship, from the first time the two hold hands till the last battle. Harry's POV. RHr. R&R please! :D FINISHED
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I am so poor :(

Author's note: :O! Another R/Hr ;) This one's a two-parter seen through Harry's POV. Part two is already completed and just needs to be edited and uploaded :)Enjoy!

_Blind_

Part I: Losing Sight

I've come to consider myself a fairly observant person. Not the most observant, not the least, but generally aware of what's going on around me. I'll admit, when I was younger, I was pretty altogether oblivious. But I've grown older now, and wiser too, (or at least I'd like to think) and 6 years of the kind constant danger and mortal peril most 30 year olds will never have to face, have taught me to be weary of the world. But there's one thing I _never_ saw coming.

Looking back, I guess it was pretty clear all along. There were always little things, things that the astute mind would have picked up on, but mine passed right by. The way he always defended her, the way she half-smiled when he spoke, the stupid fights they always seemed to get into. And there were the bigger things too, the kind of things you'd have to be blind not to see. The Yule Ball, the kiss, all of Ron's frequent jealous fits. But I wasn't blind…just, distracted. Distracted by things that I thought were more important. But the truth is still the truth, and the truth is, no one likes to be a third wheel.

It was during one of our fabled adventures when I finally realized. We were approaching inevitable doom, three kids walking into a den of Death Eaters, with a fighting hope that they could make a difference. We had advanced silently, drawing out our wands from the pockets in which they were hidden. We were silent for a second, each doing what we could to gather the courage and insanity it took to edge forward, when in the darkness Ron's bony, awkward hand reached down and gently intertwined Hermione's fingers with its own.

I waited for Hermione's reaction; always the first one to tell Ron off for doing something dumb, even in the heat of battle. But she said nothing, and gave no exasperated sigh, or roll of her eyes. Instead, she only tightened her grip on Ron's hand. Neither was surprised or confused or showed any kind of emotion at all. There seemed to be a silent understanding that I wasn't part of.

Of course, it was too "trivial" for me to think about at the time. So I filed it away, making a sarcastic joke to myself that if we made it out of this, it _wouldn't_ be because of them. After all, holding hands at a time like this would make them 10 degrees more vulnerable.

I was wrong.

As it turned out, we did make it, though we hadn't stopped the Dark Lord. But Hermione and Ron had fought better then I had ever imagined they could. As always, things returned to "normal" after. It wasn't till we had all relaxed and were walking quietly down the halls that I saw it again, that calmness, that understanding, that…whatever it was in, their eyes. Suddenly, I hated them.

"What's going on with you two anyway?" I asked suspiciously, as Hermione finished laughing at something Ron had said.

Ron, looking extremely pleased with himself, tore his gaze off Hermione. "What do you mean, mate?" he asked unconcernedly.

"You know what I mean," I stated coldly, not fond of whatever enjoyment they were having without me. "You and Hermione. There's something going on between you two, isn't there?"

"Harry," Hermione blushed, her eyes flicking quickly to each side to check if anyone had been listening. She lowered her voice, hoping I might take the hint. "No-nothing's _going_ on."

"Don't play innocent!" I snapped loudly, ignoring her plea for quiet. "I _saw_ you two holding hands, you know!"

The color drained in each their faces, leaving only a bright shade of red. "Fr-Friends can hold hands," Hermione attempted weakly.

"You don't hold hands with me!" I pointed out angrily.

Ron, who had had the 'sudden revelation' that I fancied Hermione, moved unconsciously in front of her. "Hey, if-"

"Not like _that_, Ron," I sighed in irritation, missing the days when Hermione would have been the one to correct him. "Now will _one_ of you tell me what's going on?!"

Hermione shot Ron an unsure look, and Ron gave back an uncertain shrug. She exhaled in heavy defeat. "Promise not to get mad?"

"Yes," I lied.

"I mean, it's nothing really…" Hermione stumbled, still blushing furiously. "Ron and I…we just…well, I guess…we're kind of…_dating_…you could say."

"DATING!?" DATING?!" They were _dating_?! How had I missed _that?!_

"Yeah, and what's wrong with that?" Ron asked defensively.

I stuttered. What _was_ wrong with that? Why was I getting so mad? "Be-Because…you'll get distracted! We have a lot of other things to worry about! You two can't go around…prancing through fields all day!"

"Prancing through fields?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow. I glowered at her. "Harry, it's not going to change anything. We've been…to-_together_…for a while now, and you haven't exactly noticed."

"Things _are_ going to change! Things have already changed! You're keeping secrets from me!" I yelled. Hermione's eyes opened a half-knotch wider as she saw the real problem.

"It wasn't exactly a secret," Ron pointed out obliviously, "It's not like you ever asked. Hermio- _we_ just decided we'd wait to tell you in case you reacted like…well, like _this_."

"Fine, _whatever_," I snapped unhappily. "You can do what you want." And without another word, I stamped off, leaving Hermione and Ron in the middle of the scene I had just created.

Instead of deterring their relationship, my little "temper tantrum" had only made it stronger. Thanks to our rather loud confrontation, half the school already knew that the two were "seeing" each other and thus, there was no point in them trying to keep it a secret any longer. Slowly but surely, they progressed to holding hands in between classes, weekends together at Hogsmeade, and general boyfriend and girlfriend-like behavior.

And I, in all my jealousy and feeling left out, did everything I could to prove that this would lead to our doom. Of course, I didn't have much to go on. Besides the petty annoyances of handholding and happy smiles, not much had changed. In fact, if things had changed at all, it was probably for the better; they certainly fought a lot less. Still, hindsight may be 20/20, but at the time, I was pretty blind.

I had asked Ron to come to the Quidditch field for an extra bit of practice. I was still rusty from my year on the bench and Ron's keeper skills could always do with an extra bit of improvement. Ron, however, had politely declined.

"Not tonight Harry, I really need to start working on that Potion's essay."

Ron had just given up a chance to play Quidditch…so he could do a Potion's essay? I knew things were going seriously wrong.

I went to the field by myself, hoping Quidditch would be enough to get Hermione and Ron (among other things) off my mind. It was. As usual, I got lost in the game, catching and releasing the Snitch until it was too dark to see. Sadly, I returned to the real world, packing the balls back into their places, and heading back to the Gryffindor tower.

I passively announced the password to the fat lady, and glumly walked into the empty common room. To my surprise, the common room _wasn't_ empty. In fact, it was my two best friends who were the last occupants of room that night. Both sat on the couch by the hearth, surrounded by about a dozen books and a goodly amount of quills and parchment.

I watched through narrowed eyes as Ron made some comment just under my hearing and Hermione giggled nervously. They went silent for a second, Hermione looking purposely off into the distance. Ron edged nervously closer on the couch and Hermione looked back at him intently, as if giving him permission to do what he was planning. He leaned in slowly and hesitantly, until finally catching her lips with his.

"AHAH!" I yelled triumphantly, emerging from the shadows in which I had hidden. The two jumped apart in one heartbeat.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, blushing bright red. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

I ignored her question. "Potions essay, ey Ron?" I asked incredulously, Ron gave no response, but looked down ashamedly, the tips of his ears turning bright red. "I knew you two were making a mistake! How are we supposed to get anything done if you're running around _snogging_ like _mad_ all the time!?"

"Harry, it's not like that all!" Hermione interjected desperately. "I mean, this was the first time we-" She paused, realizing what she was saying, and blushed furiously. It was hard to tell out of the two of them who looked more embarrassed.

Obviously, she was telling the truth. If they'd been "snogging like mad all the time" they wouldn't have been _half_ as embarrassed or anywhere _near_ as nervous. "Like I believe that," I snorted.

"It's the truth," Ron, who now look rather irritated as well, said, "Besides, it's not like it's any of your business."

"Of course it's my business!" I yelled, more offended now then I had ever been before. "You're both my friends!"

"Well, maybe you should start acting like it then," Ron growled angrily. Hermione looked fearfully between us, hoping there wasn't going to be another fight.

"I'm just trying to do what's best for everyone," I mumbled.

Hermione, fearful that her "_boyfriend"_ would speak out, decided to put a quick end to the conversation.

"Well, we'd better all get off to bed then," she said nervously, gathering up a few of the materials that were hers. "Night Harry, night Ron." She paused for a second, as if debating something, and then gave Ron a quick kiss on the cheek before shuffling upstairs.

Too tired to argue anymore, I turned around to head silently to the boys' dormitory.

"Harry," Ron said, forcing me to turn around.

"What?" I asked uninterestedly.

Ron bit his lip. "You know you're my best mate…and if it was _any_ other girl…but 'Mione-"

"Is that what you're calling her now?" I snorted bitterly.

His eyes opened in astonishment. "Calling her now? Harry, I've been calling her that since second year! What's going on with you? You're not…you don't…_fancy_ Hermione, do you?" He looked at me fearful, afraid I might turn into his competition.

I thought about his question for a moment, _really_ thought about it. _Did_ I fancy Hermione? After all, _something_ was causing me to act like an ass. But no…not Hermione… so what was it? "No, it's not that," I told him, letting him breath a sigh of relief.

"So what _is_ it then?" Ron asked.

"I…I dunno…" I admitted. Was I afraid of being left out? Jealous that they had something I didn't? Both sounded so foolish.

"'Mione thinks it might be…that you maybe…feel left out or something…'Course, I told her that was rubbish. After all, you're the one we were both friends with in the first place. I mean, just because Hermione and I…well, you know…doesn't mean we're not still your friends," Ron told me sincerely.

"Yeah," I responded half-heartedly, though I did feel a bit better. "I'm sorry, you know, for acting like I have been."

"It's alright," Ron smiled, "I can be a pretty big git too sometimes, or so Hermione tells me."

I smiled. "Those were some pretty smooth moves earlier; it only took you what, two months?" I mentioned sarcastically.

Ron grinned. "Shut up, we _would_ have kissed if it hadn't been for you."

"Reckon you'll try again?"

"'Magine so. That 'running around snogging like mad', you mentioned sounded like a pretty decent idea," he smirked. We both grinned.

And suddenly, I didn't hate them anymore, not in the least. I loved them; I respected them, and I was finally happy for them. And all it took was a little reassurance that I wouldn't be left behind.

So life went on and I learned to deal with Ron's continuous, dazed confessions of what had happened with him and Hermione the previous day. In fact, I dare say I became dependent on them for finding what a relationship was really like. My own "romantic endeavors" never lasted very long.

But there was something I saw in them that I had never seen before. There was a strength and a confidence that no one else could ever match. It wasn't a sudden realization, but a progressive one, that allowed me to understand what was going on. It was love. Like my mother's love protected me, their love protected each other. It made them stronger. It gave them a reason to keep fighting and keep hoping.

Suddenly, I was jealous again.

Ron, who had been making his bed while he talked ecstatically about the greatness of "'Mione", suddenly fell back on his bed with a deep sigh, closing his eyes with a content smile on his lips.

"So, it's nice being in love then?" I joked sarcastically.

"Lo-love?" Ron asked, eyes snapping open. "I mean…we never…I never…"

I caught my mistake. "I was just joking Ron, just a figure of speech. I wasn't saying that you actually _love_—"

But Ron stopped me, sitting straight up from his bed. "You know what Harry, I reckon I _do_. You're right Harry, I _do_ love her! I _love_ Hermione Granger!" He darted from his bed towards the stairs

"Ron!" I shouted quickly behind him, knowing the kind of trouble I'd be in if Ron embarrassed himself or Hermione because of something I had done.

But of course, I was too late. In all his excitement at this sudden realization, he had practically flown down the stairs to the common room and found Hermione, waiting with Ginny at the bottom. I surveyed the scene, Gryffindors scattered all about waiting to go to breakfast. Yes, I was in trouble.

"Hermione!" Ron said, rushing upon her, grabbing her with both arms, and giving her a long kiss.

Ginny fake gagged in disgust, and then rolled her eyes at her brother's behavior. The few Gryffindors who noticed threw up some half-hearted hoots and whistles.

Hermione giggled when he released her, her face red from blush and lack of air. "Well good morning to you too! What was that for?"

"I'm in love you Hermione!" he breathed, eyes sparkling with excitement. "I _love_ you!"

Hermione laughed with equal excitement. "It's about time!" she exclaimed joyfully.

At this, Ron laughed boisterously, throwing his arms around Hermione and kissing her while lifting her a good foot off the floor.

This Ginny found to be too much, and she let out a large groan. "Oh, _get_ a _room_," she scoffed and turned away from the couple, less she should become sick on the spot. I could definitely sympathize.

"Harry," she yelled up when she spotted me. "Want to go to breakfast before I loose last night's dinner?"

I grinned and we both headed to breakfast. We didn't see Ron and Hermione again until that afternoon.

To be continued! :O

Author's Notes: Well, that's it for part one! :D Part two is of equal length and details the exciting ending of _Blind _:O! In it, HarrystopsPMSing,hurrah!;P (On that note, I hopehis reaction was believable. I was basing it off of his "attitude" in Book 5 and the fact thatno one really does enjoybeing a third wheel)It should be up soon! As always, reviewers are showered with candy, love, and appreciation! :D _Constructive_ criticism is welcomed (except on mygrammar, I'm aware it's horrible ;P), but flamers are smuthered to death with snow and thrown to the monkeys :(

Best wishes and lots of love,

Soragirl

"Have you hugged an author today? Write a review and make one's day! :)"


	2. Gaining Vision

Disclaimer: Do I own it? You know I don't :(

Author's Notes: Finally! Part II:D It's been finished for eeevver, but I've just now gotten time to put it up :D Thanks for the reviews everyone! Happy Presidents Day:D Now since you've waited long enough...

_**Blind**_

_Part II: Gaining Vision_

That summer Hermione's family had decided to go France and try as she might to persuade them otherwise, she was being forced to go too. This, of course, left Ron virtually intolerable.

"I just hope she's alright, you know? France could probably be pretty dangerous…"

"Ron, she's fine. She'll be in France, traveling as a Muggle; she's probably safer there than with us." I sighed, really wishing Ron would spend more time focusing on the Quaffle we were throwing and less time focusing on Hermione.

"Yeah," he said distractedly, tossing the Quaffle back. "I mean, it's just…I dunno…don't like being away from her this long."

"RON!" I yelled, zooming to catch the Quaffle he had just missed. "Can you please pay at least a _little _attention? Hermione's _fine_. Besides, you get an owl from her nearly every day!"

"I know, I know…I'm sorry. It's just not the same as being with her. I miss the way she smells…and the way she glares when she thinks I've done something stupid and the way she-"

"Ron! Quidditch now, Hermione later. Jeeze, if you love her so much, why don't you just marry her?" I groaned sarcastically.

Ron looked for a moment like he was actually considering it.

"Ron! I was joking! _Joking!_" I pleaded desperately.

"Yeah, right mate…I know…" he tossed me the Quaffle, still looking entirely too thoughtful.

I continued tossing, all the while, oblivious to the kind of inner turmoil I had just caused for my best friend.

It was a few days later when he approached me quietly outside the burrow.

"Harry…I've been giving a lot of thought about what you said…and it's just, do you think Hermione would really go for it?" he asked, shoving his hands in his pocket and kicking at a lose piece of dirt.

"Go for what?" I asked disinterestedly, more concerned with the foot-tasting Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean I had just eaten.

"Well, go…for…ma-marrying me," Ron said, ears pink once again. I looked at him with shock and he laughed embarrassedly. "Probably not, ey? I mean…I'm not the most handsome bloke…definitely not the richest, either. And just look at her, she could certainly do better. 'Spose Weasley's a pretty poor last name as well..."

"You _really_ want to get married?" I interrupted incredulously. "You'd have to spend the rest of your life with her."

Ron blushed again. "Yeah, I know," he admitted. "But I can't imagine anything I'd rather do."

I gave a half smile; he really was quite crazy about her. I knew it was time for some friendly advice. "Then you should ask her."

Ron apparently found this thought very upsetting. "But what if she says no, Harry? What if I ruin what we've got now?"

I shrugged, honestly no more sure then he was, "Never know until you try, I suppose."

Ron nodded a little, considering this idea. He walked off without another word.

The next day, he was sure.

"I'm going to do it Harry," he told me excitedly. "I'm going to ask her…"

"That's great Ron," I said half-heartedly, but was still a little weary he was rushing into things he wasn't ready for.

He nodded, too involved with his own thoughts to notice my preoccupation. "'Figure I'll go tomorrow and see if I can't get a job somewhere. Like to get her a decent ring before I asked. You could come with me, if you'd like."

"Alright," I offered. I didn't need the money, but I imagined Ron would get awfully bored working alone.

So the next day we headed off to Diagon Alley to see if we couldn't find a job. We said nothing to Mrs. Weasley or any of the others, they were busy enough as it, and Ron was still unsure how they would take to the idea of him asking Hermione to marry him when they were barely 18. Of course, their possible reactions weren't enough to convince him to reconsider.

"Harry," he had told me seriously as I continued to question, "Maybe if things weren't like they were…maybe if we lived in a peaceful world…but all this fighting and killing has left me with only one thing I'm certain of…and that's Hermione."

This had been enough to subdue my arguments. After all, while they might bemarrying young, it couldn't be disputed that together they had been through six times more then people nine times their age.

Ron managed to scrape up (after much begging, pleading, and accepting of minimum wage pay) a job working at the Leaky Cauldron. He would work as a janitor, moping the floors and cleaning tables until he could earn enough to buy Hermione whatever it was he considered "a decent looking ring".

On our way home, Ron had been unable to resist the allure of a magic jewelry store. I warned him against it. Though I'd never been to one before, I could safely assume that there'd be nothing there that Ron could afford.

"Do you carry engagement rings?" he asked the witch at the front counter. He itched the back of his head awkwardly with his long arm as she looked him over.

"_You_ want an engagement ring?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

I too looked at my friend, trying to image what the sales person must be seeing. He stood with his weight thrown to one side, wearing a worn and rather large blue t-shirt and a fading pair of jeans. He looked a few years older then he really was, his height setting him as 20 or 21. But as usual, his eyes held that vacant expression and his position was that of someone who just didn't belong.

"Yeah," he said, not understanding why the woman would be surprised by his request. "And what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing!" she chimed unconvincingly (after all, I'm sure engagement rings _did_ bring in a quite a profit). "Let me show you our selection." She flicked her wand once and instantly an array of rings lay before us, flashing, shimmering, and blinking.

I began quickly looking over them and saw Ron do the same. They were numerous and diverse, some sparkled, some flashed, some had clever little phrases or pretty pictures, some performed tricks, but still, it took Ron only a moment to look over all of them and come to a final decision.

"No…no, not these. Do you sell any _Muggle_ rings?"

The lady seemed appalled by the suggestion of it and equally offended that Ron hadn't been dazzled by the current display. Still, a sale was a sale, so the woman tapped her wand again.

Now, a slim selection of Muggle rings appeared before them, ranging from rings you would find in a candy machine to some "serious bling-bling."

As quickly as Ron had made his decision about the first set, he had selected a ring from this set. "This one," he stated plainly, pointing his finger at a danty gold ring.

"How much is this one?"

"That old thing?" the women asked disdainfully, "Well, I'll sell it to you for 35 Galleons."

"35 GALLEONS?" Ron squeaked in disbelief, knowing it would take him a good two years to earn that much.

"35 Galleons," the woman repeated. "I'd advise you take it, boy. You'd have to pay four times that much for any other ring."

Ron nodded solemnly and nodded once again towards me, letting me know he was ready to leave.

"35 Galleons," he whistled lightly as the bells on the shop finished their light jingle. "That's quite a bit."

I shrugged, not sure what answer he was looking for. "You could earn it eventually. I suppose you're not in any rush."

Ron blushed a little and lifted his shoulders rather weakly. "Well…it's just, with everything going on…I just…in case, one of us…doesn't…_you know_…" He was now blushing harder then ever, and looking down at the ground, seemingly ashamed to have had the thought that one of them wouldn't survive the war.

"Oh," I said, unable to format any other response. Until now, I hadn't realized Ron's real reason for asking Hermione to marry him so prematurely. Suddenly, I felt a guiltily for assuming Ron hadn't been thinking, when really he had been thinking more than I had.

"I could help you out," I offered lamely, a poor attempt at reconciliation. "You could always pay me back later."

Ron shook his head vehemently. "No," he insisted. "This is something I…_we_…have to do by ourselves."

"I understand," I told him, and I did.

Ron did eventually save up enough to buy Hermione that ring, even though it cost him his Nimbus, his cauldron, and the entirety of his used spell books. He tried to make the proposal as romantic as possible, which was hard to do in such turbulent times, but Hermione would have accepted if he had done as much as to ask her in the middle of Potions class.

Things didn't change much, no date was set, no plans were made. Snape did make it a point to tear at them relentlessly, and as the word traveled round, they found that every teacher had something to say about their "premature" engagement. Although Mr. and Mrs. Weasley made no attempts to hide their disappointment in what they thought was a "very rash" decision, they treated Hermione more like a daughter then they ever had.

But they took it all in stride, and just as they had promised, they never let any of it affect our friendship or the job that had to be done. It was on that cliché dark and stormy night, they followed me into the last battle.

They weren't the only ones to make it that far. We had all fought together, Dumbledore's Army, even after Dumbledore had gone, and I couldn't possibly ask those who had to survived to test their luck any further. I thanked them, and told them that this was my fight now, but Ron and Hermione refused to stay.

"It's our fight too," he said bravely, but clutched very tightly to Hermione's hand.

Hermione nodded. "We're in this together, like we've always been. You won't make it on your own."

I realized arguing would get me nowhere, so for what would be the last time, I hugged my two best friends tightly and thanked them for all they had done.

Before the last Death Eater fell, we asked him where their master lay. The response came as no surprise. Once again, we made our way to the Chamber of Secrets.

There had never been a longer walk. There were a thousand things we needed to say, love we needed to give, debts we needed to repay…but we stayed silent, as if that could save us from the truth. We knew that Volemort was waiting for us.

_Harry Potter, _the dark lord hissed in parseltounge, lurking somewhere unseen. Slowly, I drew my wand, searching for the source. Ron and Hermione followed in suit.

_Harry Potter, brave Harry Potter, do you taste the end? A life for a life, that's how it has to be. Do you really think your friends can save you? You know I can't let any of you out alive._

The words seeped in through my ears, slithering into the cracks on my brain. He was right. For Voldermort to be defeated, at least one of us would have to die. And Hermione was right too; I wouldn't make it on my own. I looked at my two best friends; their hands clutched together, the small ring that sparkled on Hermione's finger, and I knew I had made my decision.

I smiled at them one last time. "Good luck, you two. Try not to forget about me."

Hermione, brilliant as she was, knew automatically. "Harry!" she screeched, running towards me. It was too late. My wand drawn, I brought the rocks tumbling down, closing myself in with the Dark Lord, and giving my friends the chance they deserved for a better life.

I heard Hermione crying frantically from the other side, the sound of her tiny hands prying desperately at the rock.

"Noble as usual, Mr. Potter, but you've sentenced yourself to death." My parents' murderer stood before me, face blank, wand aimed.

I pointed my wand towards him and smirked. "A life for a life."

And the whole world went blind.

_Fin._

AN: I hope you liked it:)I love reviews :D

"Have you hugged an author today? Write a review and make one's day :D'


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